£2m fund set to be approved

A £2 million funding pot to safeguard or create jobs at businesses in Staffordshire is set to be rubber-stamped.

Staffordshire County Council wants to inject fresh cash into its business support fund and is asking the Black Country Reinvestment Society to match £1m of contributions over 24 months.

Loans of around £1.5m have protected or created 231 jobs since the fund was introduced in 2009. The money has been split between 55 firms.

Under proposals which will be presented to the county council's cabinet later this month, the scheme will be extended for the next two years.

Half a million pounds a year will be pumped into the fund from council coffers. A report prepared by enterprise boss, Councillor Ben Adams, said the fund had been launched as a "specific response to the recession and the lack of availability of finance from banks".

It states: "The Staffordshire Business Support Fund has been particularly successful in supporting businesses across the county, with all district areas and a range of key sectors benefiting as a direct result.

"To date loans totalling £1,452,000 have been provided to 55 businesses including three start-up firms, helping to create some 110 new jobs and safeguard 121." Councillor

Adams is expecting demand to pick up in the coming months after it dipped this year.

He said: "Although demand has been healthy since the launch of the fund, the number of loans allocated during 2011/12 has slowed slightly with 16 loans being made since April 2011 compared to 39 in the previous 16 months.